Juliusz Łukasiewicz (; May 6, 1892 – April 6, 1951) was a Polish diplomat, an ambassador of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and a Polish

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

.Cezary Leżeński, Legiony to braterska nuta... czyli od Legionów do masonów, Wolnomularz Polski, nr 40, listopad-grudzień 2003, s. 15.

Biography

Łukasiewicz was born on May 6, 1892 in Sokolivka, in the

Podolia Governorate The Podolia Governorate or Podillia Governorate (), set up after the Second Partition of Poland, was a governorate (''gubernia'', ''province'', or ''government'') of the Russian Empire from 1793 to 1917, of the Ukrainian People's Republic from 1 ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). He was a Piłsudskiite and a supporter of

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

Prometheism Prometheism or Prometheanism (Polish: ''Prometeizm'') was a political project initiated by Józef Piłsudski, a principal statesman of the Second Polish Republic from 1918 to 1935. Its aim was to weaken the Russian Empire and its successor states, ...

project. In 1914, Łukasiewicz joined the Polish Combat Organization. Upon the creation of the Liquidation Committee for Affairs in the Kingdom of Poland in March 1917, he served as the personal secretary to the committee led by Aleksander Lednicki. Łukasiewicz soon served as first secretary representing the

Regency Council A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

in Moscow. Łukasiewicz joined the

Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (''Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych'', MSZ) is the Polish government department tasked with maintaining Poland's international relations and coordinating its participation in international and regional supra-natio ...

on January 1, 1919. As a specialist in Polish-Soviet relations, he joined the Eastern Department of the aforementioned ministry in 1921. He served as Polish envoy to France in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for a year. After his return from France in 1922, he assumed the leadership of the Eastern Department and served there for four years until 1926. From 1926 to 1934, he served as Polish envoy in several European countries in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, from 1926 to 1929; in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, from 1931 to 1932; and in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

from 1933 to 1934. In 1934, he was appointed Polish ambassador to the Soviet Union and remained in Moscow until June 1936. From July 1936, he served as the Polish ambassador to France until November 7, 1939. Upon the

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

in September 1939, Łukasiewicz energetically lobbied the French government and military officials to fulfill their obligations towards the

Franco-Polish Alliance The Franco-Polish Alliance was the military alliance between Poland and France that was active between the early 1920s and the outbreak of the Second World War. The initial agreements were signed in February 1921 and formally took effect in 1923 ...

and the Kasprzycki-Gamelin Convention. During the formation of the Polish Government in Exile in France, Łukasiewicz was forced by the French to resign from his position as Polish Ambassador to France. Upon the evacuation of the Polish government-in-exile from France to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, conflicts between Prime Minister

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish ...

and Łukasiewicz prevented the latter from any political activity in the government-in-exile in London. Łukasiewicz strongly opposed Sikorski's government in London. After the defeat of France in 1940, Łukasiewicz wrote a manifest to President

Władysław Raczkiewicz Władysław Raczkiewicz (; 28 January 1885 – 6 June 1947) was a Polish politician, lawyer, diplomat and President of Poland- in-exile from 1939 until his death in 1947. Until 1945, he was the internationally recognized Polish head of st ...

criticising Sikorski's decision to send a manifest to Stefan Litauer that proposed the creation of a 300,000-strong Polish Army under the command of the Soviet Union. Łukasiewicz additionally criticized Sikorski for squandering Polish forces in France to the enemy during the hasty retreat in May 1940, the loss of Polish bullion and for simultaneously assuming the seat of Prime Minister and General Inspector of the Armed Forces. Łukasiewicz's manifest greatly influenced Raczkiewicz's decision to dismiss Sikorski's premiership on July 19, 1940. However, under strong protest from Sikorski's sympathizers, which included the British government itself, Raczkiewicz was forced to reinstate Sikorski six days later on July 25. After the war, Łukasiewicz remained abroad. From 1947 to 1950, he served as vice-chairman at the Institute of International Research in London. He was an activist among Piłdsuskiites in exile and a member of the ''Liga Niepodległości Polski''. In September 1950, he emigrated to the United States. In April 1951, Łukasiewicz committed suicide.

Honours

Łukasiewicz received the Estonian Cross of Liberty, 2nd Class.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lukasiewicz, Juliusz 1892 births 1951 deaths People from Vinnytsia Oblast People from Olgopolsky Uyezd People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent Ambassadors of Poland to the Soviet Union Diplomats of the Second Polish Republic Ambassadors of Poland to France Ambassadors of Poland to Austria Polish Freemasons Polish democracy activists Polish emigrants to the United States Individuals associated with the Józef Piłsudski Institute of America 1951 suicides Suicides by hanging in Washington, D.C.

Biography

Honours

See also

Further reading

References